Is an Outgamie County judge's son getting a pass from the justice system? That's what some law enforcement officials and alleged victims would like to know. 34-year-old Michael Froehlich, the son of Circuit Court Judge Harold Froehlich, is accused of numerous violent crimes in the past four years, which officers have referred to the Outagamie County district attorney's office for prosecution. Criminal charges have yet to be filed in any of the cases.
The allegations, which date back to 2005, contain serious violent felonies, such as substanial battery and false imprisonment.
Hortonville police chief Michael Sullivan doesn't understand why these very serious allegations have been left to linger for years. Sullivan the fact that no charges have been filed has stymied his ability to protect and reassure Froehlich's victims.
Some of the allegations are misdemeanor counts, which carry a three-year statute of limitations.
One of the alleged victims is an Outagamie County sheriff's deputy whose family was reportedly threatened by Froehlich, following an arrest in 2007. As with the other cases, no charges were filed. Sheriff Brad Gehring says he was just recently made aware of the problem and he usually does not keep track of individual cases.
Outagamie County district attorney Carrie Schneider says her office referred the cases in a timely manner to Brown County for special prosecution. An open records request has been made to verify the exact times of referral.
Brown County district attorney John Zakowski is looking into the matter. Judge Harold Froehlich did not return calls for comment.